How do we build this relationship with God? How do we begin to come under His care and protection? The answer is by prayer. The Apostle James tells us "draw nigh to God. And he will draw nigh to you" ( James 4.8). The apostle Paul emphasizes this teaching "Pray without ceasing" (1Thes 5.17). As already mentioned , God is very near to us for in him we live and move and have our being. But why should we pray to God? Again, the Bible is filled with recorded incidents of men and women who turned to God to help them in their hour of need. There were many things in their lives that they could not control. They needed care and protection. So they turned to God in prayer to help them deal with those parts of their lives that were out of their control.

There are numerous examples in the Bible that illustrate the response of God to meet the needs of individuals who were experiencing anxiety and worry. It is a Biblical theme designed to teach the interconnection that exists between God and man. Let us take for an example Hannah. She was married to Elkanah who had two wives. The name of the other wife was Peninnah. Now Hannah’s dilemma was that she could not have children while Peninnah could. Unfortunately, Peninnah made it her business to make Hannah feel inferior because she was childless. This distressed Hannah greatly, especially as time passed with no change in her situation. In fact if you look up this recorded incident in 1 Samuel ch1, the Bible states that God had "shut up her womb" (i.e. not allowed her to have children).

When the anguish became so great, Hannah exercised the only option she knew and that was to pray to God. She was making a special prayer at the temple in Shiloh when the priest, Eli, saw her speaking to herself. Initially he thought she was drunk . He didn’t realize that she was praying.

When she explained what she was doing, he understood her sadness and told her to leave in peace as he would ask God on her behalf to grant her the request she was making of God . This she did and in the course of time she became pregnant and had a son who she named Samuel. This child was to become a famous spiritual leader in Israel when he grew up.

There are many lessons for us in this account but the one that we particularly note is the answering of prayer . Every human being faces uncertainty; God has designed life in such a way as to have uncertainty, so that we will realize our dependence upon Him.

Responsibility and Commitment

Is all this care and protection from God just for our own benefit? Do we accept all this support and not feel some sense of obligation and responsibility?

Consider some words of the psalmist: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither by thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verity thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass".(Psalm 37.1-5)

As we read such passages, it is very clear that God is teaching us to be righteous, to turn aside from sin and evil. We observe the reference to "Commit thy way unto the LORD"; To encourage us, He gives us the things we need, but in return He wants us to transform our lives. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome: "And be not conformed to this world : but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12.2)

As we observe very carefully how God answers our prayers, we see the corrective component as well. After all, no one is perfect . Again, the skilful manner in which our weaknesses are exposed by events and circumstances reinforces the knowledge that is working with us to produce a better person. It is beyond coincidence that we are being shaped and fashioned by the Creator’s hand who is looking after our ultimate wellbeing . If we allow this process to take place, if we allow God to shape us, we become a truly beautiful product of God ‘s creation! This is what is meant by spiritual maturity.

This is the message that is consistently portrayed throughout the Bible. In the example of Hannah, we see her spiritual connection to God strengthened by her experience. Can we not all identify with these similar needs today ? The answer is, Yes and it is within our power to act and receive. The Bible invites us to build our livese around God. There is much to learn

I grew up in the 40s/50s with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away never to return. So, while we have it, it's best we love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken.and heal it when it's sick. This is true. For marriage and old cars and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and ageing parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep, like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special and so we keep them close! I received this from someone who said I was a keeper and pass it on to you to keep and pass on to others you don't always see, but you know they are always there!

1... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2... God won't ask the square footage of your house. He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet. He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5... God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ability.

6... God wont ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived. He'll ask how you treated your neighbours and your brothers and sisters.

8... God won't ask about the colour of your skin. He'll ask about the content of your character.

9... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to Himself, even if you have lost your way many times. He wants us to be as patient and loving with others, as He is with us.

We are to learn from the Bible why certain things happen, and we are also to find out why God had to punish people for certain wrong doings. It is from such observations that we can determine to make our way of living acceptable before God. We are therefore to learn and follow the right way required by God for our salvation. If we are to be saved we need to follow God’s ways and requirements and to forsake unnecessary pleasure.

During the early days of man living on earth he chose to disobey God and the result was death. It seemed to man that what God told him was a lie and in fact instead of believing his Creator he believed a creature. By disobeying God he brought himself in the line of death and was sent out from the garden of Eden.

From Adam to the time of Noah people died. But in Noah’s time God chose to punish people because they were more wicked. God did not tolerate this, so he told Noah to prepare for his salvation. Noah did his part by constructing a ship in which he and others, and the animals were saved. Why did God think to punish people and to kill them by flooding? Even those who could swim got tired and they were swept away in the deep waters, and there was no dry land for them to escape to.

In Genesis we learn that it grieved God that he had made man (Gen.6:5-6): "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." This is a clear picture of what man had done up to a point that God could not tolerate such wickedness. In vs. 11-12 we are told that the earth was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence: "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." God told Noah that what was happening on the earth grieved him and for that reason He was going to destroy man. Noah was told that man was corrupt and the earth was filled with violence. So we can see that it was corruption, violence and all sorts of wickedness that brought them punishment. God did not tolerate the wickedness and the violence which was being committed in those days.

Let us go again in the Bible and look for wickedness. The people in Noah’s days were really very wicked. They said in their heart that there is no God and they were corrupt, and they did abominable works. No one understood or sought God. People had gone aside from God and were all filthy, no one did anything good, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Romans 3:10-18. "As it is written, there is none righteous no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

So we can see how God defines wickedness and such wickedness was happening in Noah’s days. That was the reason for God destroying the people. This is also happening now, we are in exactly the same situation. Psalm 10:7-11 "His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it." Isaiah 59:7-8 "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace."

God has defined the wickedness of man that provoked His anger in Noah’s days. No peace and no consideration for human life, people being killed brutally, corruption in every way and walk of life, no justice, the truth from the Bible is put aside and even the truth itself is being made corrupt by men with money that people should teach lies. (Matt 28:11-15). This is the wickedness of man and it is this that God saw and it grieved him and He is also grieved at what is now happening. Men may think that God does not see, but we have read that the former people thought likewise but we also hear that God descended to see if the crying of people was true. And the innocent blood which is being shed is crying before the Lord God and God said he is going to destroy those who destroy the earth. Innocent blood is being shed and life destroyed for no apparent reason – this is wickedness.

When the cup is full Jesus will come to stop the corruption, violence and all other kinds of wickedness. Jesus Christ said the very same things would happen prior to his second coming:

Matt. 24:37-38: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark". And Jesus will find such things happening until the righteous enter into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is coming to set up the Kingdom of God, to destroy of the wicked and give eternal life to the righteous. Isaiah 3:9 "The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves." We have heard of the people’s wickedness and violence that provoked God’s anger, and the same things are today’s news on both radio and TV. So what do we expect? Jesus told us that these things will happen prior to his coming and our duty now is to wait for his second advent. Matt.24:36-44; Luke 21:34-36. So may the Lord come to end human suffering and end all wickedness, corruption and violence and stop people crying, and wiping away the tears, for every moment of the day blood is being shed and tears from the eyes are never dried.

We need Jesus Christ now! When we hear and see news from the radio and TV. we see human suffering, wickedness and violence as mentioned in the Bible. The immoral behaviour of people tells us clearly of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we have to take care of ourselves, how we behave and to seek God in righteousness. Our belief and faith should be centred on our Lord Jesus Christ so that when he comes we shall be worthy of the Kingdom and salvation will be ours. We should separate ourselves from all wickedness, corruption and violence which brought destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Adam disobeyed God and believed a lie, and death has followed up to this day. So let us follow the second Adam, the Son of Man, the Lamb, the Son of God, Jesus Christ and believe in him so that we shall be saved.

To see and hear what we see and hear, rather than what we're supposed to see and hear; to think what we think, rather than what we're supposed to think; feel what we feel, rather than what we're supposed to feel; imagine what we imagine; rather than what we're supposed to imagine.

When these freedoms are compromised, as they are in all of us from childhood, then we are mystified, we cannot trust ourselves, indeed we become taught not to trust ourselves. Hence we are unable to exercise self control because we've handed that power over to another or others.

Scenes From Masvingo Rural Ecclesia,Zimbabwe

Many today are desiring the favour of God upon their life, family, business and finances. Are we seeking attention on our lives for our own glory or to up-lift the gospel of our Lord and Saviour? And then how do we receive His favour? In the Old Testament, they always were seeking the favour of God. They went about this in some very diverse ways. Some did not care if it was the One True God or the god of this world. They just wanted to prosper in some way from a supernatural power. I guess I would ask; Have things really changed very much? Look at the world of entertainment and the political realm. It seems people will do anything to reach a selfish self-motivated goal. And the day to day world is no different. In this new covenant, we are receiving His favour through salvation in His Son. After all, if it is favouritism, then the Lord Jesus is who we want to contract with. Because in all honesty, to be in God’s favour can only be accomplished through His Son. In this favouritism are all the blessings and promises of the Bible. Those who love and acknowledge the Son of God, do honour to the Father, who shows favour to them through the Son. Let us desire God’s favour, with a pure heart (the word pure from the Bible means no mixture of evil). We cannot mix the gods of this world with the One living God, the Creator of all things. It is impossible to mix Jesus Christ and sin within the same heart. We must make our bodies submissive God’s will. When we make a mistake it is not the end but just another step in maturing as one of God’s chosen ones and that is what we are becoming, first we are called and then we are chosen. We can have favour with God and Jesus, and we must tell others of this favour.

Joshua was chosen by God to lead the Israelites after the death of Moses. God promised to give him successes and to be with him throughout his leadership (Joshua 1:1-9). "Have not I commended thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest (verse 9)." God assured him of victory over all their enemies including the Hittites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Girgashites and Amorites, but along the way, he was defeated shamefully (Joshua 3:10; 7:2-6). Though he had earlier won a war against the city of Jericho that was more fortified, the Israelites suffered a defeat against an unknown town like Ai.

The people of Israel had witnessed God’s presence and power as they left Egypt and travelled through the desert. God gave them food that fell as dew (manna), divided the Red Sea for them to walk through and gave them water to drink from a rock. The wall of Jericho fell down by shouting, so why should a weak army like that of Ai defeat Israel? There was a reason.

Achan secretly stole some treasures from Jericho and hid them in his room, but God saw him and was angry with the Israelites (Joshua 7:1).The sin of Achan caused the Israelites to lose confidence and the lives of some soldiers. This was not a story of the past. It happens all the time in families, work places, homes and even the church (ecclesia). The curse put on some families in the past continues to disturb the generations till some members see God. "And Elisha said unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said unto him. Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from the chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever.’ And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow" (2 Kings 5:25-27). Envy can cause people to put obstructions in the path of their compatriots through physical and spiritual means. Job did no wrong, but lost everything (Job 1). Naomi, left Bethlehem on her own to go to the land of Moab and lost everything (Ruth 1:1-5).

People may try very hard to make a life for themselves, only to meet difficulties and defeats all the way. Principalities abound and people need God to deliver them. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". If this is our situation, there is a reason for it, "therefore, take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:10-17).

"The end of all things is at hand". "Behold, I make all things new", (1 Peter 4:7; Rev 21:5). They say that all good things come to an end. I have a better version: all bad things are soon going to end and only the good will remain.

The fact that our world is tormented by evil is not secret. Just read any newspaper on any day of the week. You will be reminded, though you probably had not forgotten, that all is not well with the planet.

Each night the sun sets on countless lives that have been ravaged by normal occurrences of the day: Ravaged by war. Ravaged by crime. Ravaged by broken relationships. But the same sun always rises again, only to reveal that the madness continues. Despite the many anguished cries that plead so desperately that morning should not come, it does - again and again and again. That is until the sunset, not of another day, but of time itself, descends upon this earth.

Be assured the tears that flood over our bustling world are not shed in vain. The Almighty God has promised to wipe away all tears from our eyes. A glorious day of healing is just ahead.

The sun will finally set on all sin and suffering, never to rise again. There is One enthroned in heaven who has promised the eternal demise of evil; affliction will not rise up again.

Sin will run its course. Sinners will repent or rebel once and for all. This hijacked planet will return to its owner. All intelligent beings will proclaim with one voice, "Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints" (Rev 15:3). "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Mat 13:43).

The plans have already been made for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). For the first heaven and the first earth, the present brutal nightmare we now endure, will soon pass away. When that day of gladness comes there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying and there shall be no more pain (Rev 21:1, 4).

The sunset of time will be followed by the sunrise of eternity. This present reality of heartache will give way to the new reality of endless love and peace. So do not hesitate to answer the question that matters most: How can I be one of the happy citizens of God’s coming kingdom?

Well, there is another sunrise you should know about. This one is more personal and awaits its day of dawning in your heart. Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness. God says to you who obey "My saving power will rise on you like the sun and bring healing in its rays" (Malachi 4:2). You may claim your citizenship in the kingdom of Christ by inviting him into your heart as Saviour and Lord. Understand and believe the essential Truths and be baptised. He will heal the wounds your sins have made by the light of H is forgiving and renewing grace.He has reserved a place for you in his plan. Do not miss it for anything.

These claims all depend upon setting up an impression that a group of men sat down at a conference, with a pile of books in front of them, and decided which ones they would put into the New Testament canon - throwing some into the bin, and accepting others as Divinely inspired.

However, this is simply not what happened! There was no single ‘Council’ or conference which decided which books should be put into the canon [i.e. the list of inspired books which make up the New Testament]. The history of those ‘Councils’ makes it clear that it was more a case of confirming that the books already widely accepted as inspired were in fact inspired and should be included in the canon of the New Testament which was then being produced. Initially, Christianity began amongst largely illiterate folk. They heard the words of the Old Testament prophets read to them, and then they had copies of the Gospels and letters read to them. But as everything had to be copied out by hand, producing a whole copy of the New Testament was a major task. As things became more organized in the church, there had to be a decision as to which set of documents was going to be copied out and made into a ‘book’. But they were largely a confirmation of the books which were already widely accepted as inspired. In any case, those Councils usually only had local authority over a few churches- none of them universally decided, once and for all, for the whole world, which books should be accepted: " Synodal judgments and episcopal pastoral letters concerning the contents of the Bible become usual only in the fourth century, and at first are of only local importance. They encourage uniformity between the various areas of the church, but are unable to bring about a completely uniform canon until the Middle Ages" ⁽¹⁾.

How, then, did it come about that the early church knew which books were inspired and which weren’t? Paul and Peter were aware that there would be false prophets within the early church as well as true ones (2 Pet. 2:1). These false prophets wrote down their false teachings and claimed they were inspired. So there had to be a system of deciding whether a prophet was true or false. There was a Holy Spirit gift which enabled the early church to ‘discern the spirits’- to know for sure who was inspired and who wasn’t (1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Jn. 4:1). 1 Cor. 14:29 suggests that as soon as a person claimed to be ‘prophesying’ from God, then the person with the gift of discerning spirits was to be present with them and to confirm their words. And Paul goes on to say that anyone who doesn’t submit to this, doesn’t really have the Holy Spirit gifts.

There were other tests of these prophets- if they didn’t accept that Jesus was Lord, they didn’t have the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). If they held false teaching about whether Jesus came in the flesh, and walked in hatred of the other Christians, they also were to be rejected (1 Jn. 4:1-10). When Paul says that God and the holy spirit witness to the truth of what he is writing, he is presumably referring to how those with the gift of discerning spirits had tested and approved what he was saying (Rom. 1:9; 9:1 cp. 2 Cor. 11:31; Gal. 1:20; 1 Tim. 2:7). What all this means is that as soon as a genuine New Testament prophet gave a prophecy, it was immediately recognized as such, because all these methods of ‘testing the spirit’ had been followed. This, by the way, explains the very ‘dogmatic’ and self-assured tone of some of the writers. They insist that their commands have God’s authority (1 Thess. 4:2; 2 Thess. 2:15), and therefore must be obeyed (2 Thess. 3:14). They can insist that what they are saying is actually the will and command of the Lord (1 Cor. 14:37) and their inspired preaching was "of the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:13). These claims would have come over as arrogant and baseless - unless there had indeed been the process of confirmation of their words as explained above. The writers can ask for their letters to be read at the gatherings of the early church - which initially would have been based around the synagogue practice of reading from the Old Testament Scriptures. Their writings were clearly accepted on a par with those writings - as soon as they were issued (1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16; Rev. 1:3).

All this is why we find a very significant feature in both the New Testament itself, and in the historical, uninspired writings of the early Christians: they speak about the New Testament writings as being inspired Scripture just as they speak of the inspired Old Testament writings. So Peter, writing in A.D. 68, speaks of Paul's letters as being amongst "the other Scriptures" (2 Pet. 3:16), i.e. on the same level of acceptance as the Old Testament Scriptures. In 1 Tim. 5:18, Paul combines two quotations, one from the Old Testament and another from the Gospel of Luke, and calls them both "Scripture": "For the Scripture saith "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn' [Dt. 25:4]. And, 'The labourer is worthy of his hire'" (Lk. 10:7). Polycarp, writing in about AD115, combines the Old Testament Psalms and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in a similar manner: "In the sacred books.... as it is said in these Scriptures, 'Be ye angry and sin not,' and 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."' Some years later, the [uninspired] second letter of Clement (2:4) quotes Isaiah and then adds: "And another Scripture, however, says, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners'" - quoting from Matthew. The first epistle of Clement, dating at the latest to AD95, quotes from many of Paul’s letters and from the Gospels; but very significantly it doesn’t quote from any of the books which later were rejected at the Councils. So, the ‘new’ writings of the New Testament were accepted on an equal footing as the Old Testament Scriptures from soon after they were first circulated. Notice that this was all before the Councils met to assemble the canon. The books were widely accepted as inspired before them! They didn’t give those books an inspired status. It’s also apparent that the ‘new’ books didn’t go through much of a process of being recognized as inspired. As outlined earlier, they were accepted as inspired immediately.

Roman Catholics make the point that their church not only decided what went into the New Testament but also added the Apocrypha, which Protestants don’t accept. But it’s historically inaccurate to say that the Roman Catholics decided what went into the New Testament - the decision was made well before the founding of Roman Catholicism as we now know it. This religion started from the church at Rome. Their leaders claimed that their church should have universal (‘Catholic’) control over all other churches. They decided that the leader of the church of Rome, now known as the Pope, spoke directly from God; his decrees were to be treated as the word of God. They showed by this that they utterly failed to take into account the Biblical teaching about ‘discerning the spirits’. In this and many other matters they showed themselves to be completely out of harmony with the word of God. It is therefore a baseless claim to suggest that they, who consider their leader to speak God’s word, should have any right to define what is or is not inspired. The simple fact is that the canon of the New Testament was fixed well before the development of ‘Roman Catholicism’.

God has shown us throughout the Old Testament how He works. Yes, He can do great miracles. He could have made the New Testament float down from the sky, complete with printing apparatus. But He didn’t. He has always preferred to work through the ‘still small voice’ rather than through anything dramatic (1 Kings 19:12). He is of course God and not man, and He does and can do miracles; but He works with what has been rightly called ‘an economy of miracle’. He works through normal historical processes, through people, misguided people, bad people, good people. They all play their role. Given this, how He worked in order to give us the New Testament is exactly in keeping with how He has worked before. There was the miraculous, Divine element - the writing of the books and the gift of ‘discerning of spirits’. And then there was the normal historical process - the books being gathered into groups, and then published more widely, and finally being fixed into the canon of the New Testament which we now have.

2 Timothy 3:12 Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Jesus Christ will be persecuted

Philippians 2:3-5 Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had. ‘To follow the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

2 Timothy 3:15 Since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 11:39, 40 What a record all these have won by their faith! Yet they did not receive what God had promised because God had decided on an even better plan for us, to be rewarded with them.

Luke 2:47 All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers. When Jesus was twelve years old, he went with his parents to the festival as usual. But the boy Jesus stayed in Jerusalem. His parents did not know this. Some of our parents currently do not know the Holy Scripture; try to teach them to know the Bible.

1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, give your time and effort to the public reading of the scriptures and to preaching and teaching.

Matthew 21:15, 16 But when the chief priest and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the son of David!’ they were indignant and said to him ‘Do you know what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes’, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise to God’.

The prophet’s message is to turn and give themselves totally to the Lord,. Even though they have no offerings to bring to Him they can still bring themselves and call to Him, for He is ready to meet them.

How often our response to God is affected by our circumstances. When things go well, we rejoice and praise God. When things go wrong, we sink into despair and self-pity, feeling that God has forgotten or rejected us.

If we can learn to give ourselves to Him, even though everything seems to be against us and we feel stripped and empty, we will find that He is with us in the mess and that makes a lot of difference.

Chapter 2 – Knowing God makes the difference.

If our reactions to events and circumstances are no different to those of people with no faith or hope in God, are they not entitled to ask the question, ‘Where is your God?’.

Read Joel 2:1-27

Using graphic, poetic language, Joel paints a picture of a locust hoard as a great army destroying a city, Verses 1-11 As a result people of other nations could point their fingers and say ‘Why has this happened to you? Where is your God?’ Verse 17.

Being a Christian does not mean that we are given some sort of Divine immunity to disaster, difficulty, trial or unpleasantness, economic restraints, unemployment, the death of loved ones, suffering and many other things which are common in the world. These will be experienced as much by Christians as by anybody else. In the middle of their problems Joel points the people forward to the expectation of great blessing. No matter what our present situation, with confidence in God, instead of turning inwards in despair and self-preservation, we will still be blessed as we serve others and others will see the difference. God is with us, verse 27.

The dramatic military images used by Joel picture the great preparations for the battle of Armageddon. God challenged His enemies to do their worst, to prepare for war bringing all their resources together for the battle, (ch.3:9-10) The language used portrays the conflict intensifying as the Day of the Lord approaches. From God’s perspective there is no doubt about the ultimate outcome of the battle.

Applications for Bible Basics continue to be received from the immigrant communities in Western Europe. For some time JELENA, originally from Ukraine but having lived in Zaragoza, Spain, for some years, has been studying Bible Basics in Russian. Having been through Orthodox, Catholics, Adventists [with whom she was ‘baptized’], she still hungered for a personal relationship with the Lord based upon truth. Mocked by her neighbours for never having gone to confession for four years and not attending church- ‘going to church’ is a real big cultural thing in Spain - Lena has her faith where it should be – in her heart. It was a pleasure to have some long discussions with this lively, prayerful, intelligent woman and to eventually baptize her into the Lord Jesus in the bath tub of a hotel in northern Spain. Although in a difficult personal situation, our Sister is a great Bible reader, and incidentally was very pleased to be presented with the Ukrainian edition of Bible Basics. We feel sure that providing literature in the exact native language of contacts is indeed worthwhile and enhances their grasp of the Truth.

We moved on to another town to visit GELA. She is a wonderfully brave woman, originally from Africa, who has gone through some awful experiences and which are ongoing. She is in need of our prayerful support as she ‘is in a very very difficult situation, although she is one of the most prayerful people we have met anywhere. Again we are delighted to announce her baptism into

Next stop was France, where we have a number of promising contacts from the immigrant community in France. Amongst these, we met up with our long time contact JEAN-FRANCOIS. A native of Congo, he’s living near Geneva Switzerland, but had been sent to Paris by his company for training. We were delighted to meet up with him there on a break from his training course. Since having decided to be baptized, God has greatly blessed him with a good new job, and he was simply so happy to be baptized in that bath tub of a Paris hotel. The message of Hebrews 3:6 came to mind: holding fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. We immediately passed our brother’s mobile number to local French speaking sisters who were able to text him felicitations and greetings. His younger sister has recently escaped the violence in Congo and is now with him, along with his wife and two young children, and we pray for them in their difficult situation as they settle in to a new life in Europe.

So we commend our two new sisters and brother to the Lord’s care, returning to Latvia very convinced of and thankful for the work the Lord is guiding us to amongst the immigrant communities of Western Europe.

A dificult visit has been made to north central Russia, and to cut a long story short, 3 days later SERGEJ and IRINA were baptized into the Lord. They live in poverty and we were able to give them some welfare support. Many of these highly remote areas were settled during the Soviet period in an attempt to 'open up Russia'. People went to live in places that really can't sustain much human habitation, and were largely supported by State subsidies. Now the subsidies have gone, but the people are left living in these remote places attempting to survive by subsistence farming. The growing season is so short. Sergej and Irina are out in the fields planting potatoes at the moment, hoping for a good harvest by the end of the summer, which they will store and live off through the long winter, rationing them and their children to a few potatoes and carrot each day. However the long winter and sudden rise in temperatures has resulted in major flooding which is making their sowing very difficult. Please pray for them.

The collective farms [kolkhoz] where people once worked are now all broken down and not supported by the State any more, so there is no employment there, subsistence farming is the only way. With Winter temperatures averaging -45 degrees centigrade, life is miserable and alcoholism rampant.

We drove and flew down to southern Russia, near the Chechnaya border. We met with an active ecclesia in the area, and were pleased to baptize NATASHA. With all health care now having to be paid for, so many have urgent requirements for operations and medicines which they just can't meet. Sis Natasha has a baby who is very sick; she returned from the doctor's with an X-ray scan and prescription for an operation, but she has no money to pay. She is partially deaf and there is little work in the poor village where she lives.

We were able to give some help, and also to Bro Sasha for treatment required for his wife. We can only do this through the generosity of your continued support and we and they so appreciate it.

Bro Sasha reported further about Bro Vladimir, who he says has been persecuted by Orthodox priests and unfairly imprisoned on a trumped up charge. He asked if we could send food for him to our Brother's wife, as conditions in the prison are awful. Any who would like to send some food parcels should please contact us. Bro Sasha also reported regarding the problems of our Bro Nikolaj in Chechnaya. His house was totally destroyed in the fighting but the State won't give him compensation as the house was in the name of a relative who was killed. He is apparently living in a ruined house in Grozny, but recently visited our Bro Sasha.

From southern Russia we flew via Moscow to Udmurtiya, an autonomous region next to the Moslem republic of Tatarstan. Here there lives ANDREJ, a long-term contact with an excellent knowledge of Scripture. Andrej had attended the winter Bible School in Kazan but needed to be more sure about the issues of the devil and the non pre-existence of Jesus. Now he is sure; he has carefully researched all the doctrines of the Truth in great detail, and it was a pleasure to visit and baptize him. We promised to pray for his unbelieving family. We give thanks to God our father and ask for your continued prayers and support as the Gospel spreads literally into every corner of the earth.